Comments on: [Updated: 10/16] Everything Has Weight: Going Without Evernote (and Other Apps)

By: Weszt

Weszt — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 14:41:54 +0000

Thanks for the information! It’s really helpful to hear what other people are doing.

By: AM

AM — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 22:58:28 +0000

It works, and it’s simple too. Ideally, the folders are within reach of one’s desk. I try to minimize the number of things I must do each morning, but checking my calendar for the day (which was organized the night before) and looking at the folder for today’s date is essential. For me, the folders contain mostly bills or letters to mail on a certain date, plus paper forms/receipts/etc. tied to dated events. All of that could be done electronically, of course, but not everything is electronically delivered to me, and I don’t want to take time to scan stuff into Evernote or similar if it’s not necessary.

By: Weszt

Weszt — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:13:20 +0000

Wow – so you truly do the 43 folders approach? I’ve never taken that plunge, possibly because I don’t have much paper and didn’t think the classic Tickler approach was a fit for me. Huh. Might need to reconsider that.

By: AM

AM — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 18:02:31 +0000

Most of my tickler files are paper-based (43 folders in a filing cabinet), which I check every morning (unless I forget!) or All Day entries in Google Calendar that are colored red, like paying certain bills because I want to do that as late as possible for cashflow reasons (my calendar is the one thing I must check every morning and do).

By: Weszt

Weszt — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 14:57:29 +0000

I believe that Evernote purposely imposes limits, keeps things simple, and focuses just on potent features that just work. Not dissimilar from Apple who instead of launching products (e.g. iPhone) with everything that people say they need, Apple focuses on getting core functions right and deliver what they feel people really need. This is always controversial, but that focus, those imposed limitations, are more often than not IMHO better user experiences (so says the UX designer). Overall I think it’s a really good product.

But…

The habit of capturing so much is burdensome, I believe. At one point I had several thousand notes, most of which I’d never taken more than 2 seconds to look at. It was like hoarding, this “oh, I simply can’t forget that” mentality. But I could forget all that. I don’t want my note taking tools to become a job.

So I don’t want to beat up Evernote. I think it’s great. I’ve just reached a point where I can see the strength and beauty of living with less and a pen and paper are enough.

As for using Notes on iOS and Dropbox, yep, that’s a configuration I’ve been thinking about, too.

I’d love to hear about your tickler files because I’m taking a similar approach there, too. Anything that has a date I can either set reminders for or put on a calendar, but I’ve found it useful to have a few lists to remind me of things that don’t fit in projects or involve people operating around me.

Thanks for the thoughtful comment, by the way!

By: AM

AM — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 12:46:53 +0000

Evernote makes it way too easy to capture too much information that I don’t need and will forget about anyway. And once the info is captured, I find the EN app itself to be limiting and clunky. Obviously many people love EN and find it useful for specific uses (like writers doing research), but for me not using EN leads to a clearer mind.

I do need to keep some reference material, and for that I like the Notes app on the iPhone, or text files in a folder hierarchy in Dropbox (accessed by something like Notesy) or GDocs. I use Instapaper or Google Reader to read things later.